A competition is open for the attribution of a Research Scholarship for MSc holders (BI-MSc) in the framework of the project ERC Starting grant “FattyCyanos”, Grant agreement no: 759840, supported by the European Research Council, funded under H2020-EU, according to the following conditions:

1. Scientific area: Biological Sciences / Biochemistry

2. Admission requirements: The candidates are required to hold a MSc degree in a subject related to Chemistry, Biochemistry or Biological Sciences. All nationalities are welcome to apply (subject to visa restrictions). Applicants should be proficient in English. No knowledge of Portuguese is required.

In addition, candidates should be committed to enrol in PhD studies in 2020, should have excellent academic credentials, have willingness for team work and be highly motivated and committed to work with microbial natural products.

3. Work plan: The selected candidates will join our team under the ERC Starting grant “FattyCyanos”. The ultimate goal of this project is to discover new natural products and new enzymes from Cyanobacteria. The project integrates natural products chemistry, metabolomics, biosynthesis and enzymology.

4. Legislation and official rules: Law nº. 40/2004, 18th August (Research Fellowship and Studentship Regulation) amended and republished by Decreto-Lei n.º 202/2012, 27th August; FCT Regulation for Studentships and Fellowships and CIIMAR Grants Regulation.

5. Work place: The selected candidates will be working under the supervision of Dr. Pedro Leão at the Cyanobacterial Natural Products team at CIIMAR (University of Porto). The laboratory is situated at CIIMAR’s headquarters, in the modern Cruise Ship Terminal of the Leixões Harbour, in Matosinhos, greater Porto area. The candidates will work in a multidisciplinary environment strongly connected to the Sea and will have access to state-of-the-art analytical instrumentation and modern laboratory facilities.

6. Duration of the grant: The positions have the duration of one year, under the regime of exclusive dedication, and can be renewed for periods not larger than 12 months up to the project deadline (31 Dec 2022). The positions are anticipated to start in early 2020.

7. Monthly maintenance allowance: The monthly maintenance allowance is 989,70€ (nine hundred and eighty nine Euros and seventy Euro cents), in agreement with the monthly maintenance stipend table of the grants directly attributed by FCT, I.P. within the country (https://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/valores.phtml.en)

8. Selection methods: A global assessment of the candidates will be carried out by evaluation of scientific and curricular achievements as well as their perceived motivation to undertake the project and valued (1 to 10 values). A pre-selection of up to five of the best candidates will be performed after the application deadline and communicated to the applicants. One or both of the referees indicated by these shortlisted candidates will be contacted to provide reference letters. The shortlisted applicants will also be called for a personal interview (via Skype if the candidate is located outside Portugal). The jury will select up to two candidates to fill in the positions taking into account the scientific and curricular achievements, recommendation by referees and the performance in the interview. One or both positions may not be awarded if the expected candidate quality is not met.

9. Composition of the jury:

President of the jury: Pedro Leão, PhD

Vogal: Joana Almeida, PhD

Vogal: Mariana Reis, PhD

10. Form of Advertising/notification of the results: The final results of the first step of the evaluation will be published through a list sorting the candidates according to their attributed mark, on the CIIMAR website and by e-mail; in case of disagreement, the candidates have a 10-working day term in which to contest the decision, if he/she so wishes, as provided for in the Código do Procedimento Administrativo in a preliminary hearing setting. After the interviews, the final results of the shortlisted applicants will be published on the CIIMAR website and communicated by e-mail. The jury reserves the right to not assign the grants depending on the quality of the applications.

11. Deadline for application and presentation of applications: If you are interested in this position, you are encouraged to apply from 2^nd until 13^th December 2019, by sending: i) copy of the eligibility certificates, ii) a CV with a list of up to two referees (name, e-mail and position), iii) academic transcripts, as well as iv) a short (one-page) description of your past achievements, research interests and motivation to undertake this position. The application documents and any specific informal inquiries (encouraged) should be addressed to Dr. Pedro Leão (pleao@ciimar.up.pt) with CC to mgalvao@ciimar.up.pt with FattyCyanos – Research Scholarships in the subject line.